Need Costa Rica Beta

[JayB]

Heading there for two weeks in mid-January for a deferred honeymoon, been to busy to do much in the way of scoping the country out.

 

If you've been there, what were some your favorite places? Any great bargains in terms of hotels, restaurants, etc. Feel free to share anything that you especially enjoyed, especially if it's quiet, scenic, and unique to Central America.

[Squid]

 

Has anyone mentioned botflies yet?

[JayB]

My wife is an MD who spent three years in west Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer, so I've got the infectious/tropical disease angle covered, but thanks.

[TREETOAD]

Have you given any thought to Guatemala at all? I have been to both places and although Costa Rica is a beautiful place I found the culture to be somewhat bland, maybe a little too western. It was definately easy to travel there, English is spoken almost everywhere gringos go. And the beaches are great, my climbing partner has surfed there many times but it just didn't click with my wife and I so..We cut our travels short there and flew into Guatemala and spent three weeks traveling there. Though the people there have suffered in unimaginable ways there, through war and natural disasters the spirit and friendliness is truly genuine. The Mayan culture is something that you can almost taste. I have always wanted to return there and this February I am going back down to work with a small organization called Poco A Poco. They set up and help run small medical clinics in the poorest rural areas and coordinate surgical teams to go for two or three weeks at a time to perform much needed operations for these people. Anyway you should check it out on the web. It aint no all inclusive but you will never forget Guatemala once you have been there. If your wife is an MD maybe she would be interested in doing a little stint there.

[snugtop]

My advice is similar...get out of Costa Rica! I would head to Nicaragua. Nicaragua is awesome, less touristy, culturuarlly much more interesting, far cheaper, and actually (contrary to wht many people think) the safest country in Latin America--and a lot safer than CR. Check out Granada and Ometepe (volcano on Lake Nicaragua) and San Juan del Sur on the west coast. The Moon guides is actually really good.

 

You can get there cheaply by bus going through Liberia, or you can fly Taca for about $170 RT this time of year.

 

Just my two cents.

[ryland_moore]

TreeToad, I would have to disagree. I lived in Costa Rica for a year and was in Guatamala and Nicaragua for 6 months. Yes, maybe it is more western in the popular areas, but if you get off the beaten path, there are BriBri Indians that are almost as old as the Mayans. I would say visit the Guanacaste Peninsula and stay in remote areas. One cool place is a Biological Reserve that doesn't even have any signs. A college dorm matron told me about it as she lives part time in TN on a college campus and part-time in MonteVerde Cloud Reserve where she founded and runs Escuala de Creativa. To get there, tale the ferry from Puntarenas over to the peninsula and head to Paquera. From there is a biological station by bus about 20 minutes SW of Paquera. You can stay in ocean front cabins, hike the beaches (all to yourself) shower outdoors (romantic) and take sea kayaks to three beaches. Monkeys all around! SUper remote. We were the only ones staying there when I was there and it is 3,000 acres. Also check out the dry lowland forest around Tamarindo and North. Big surf spot and Playa Naranja and Negra. Skip Papagayo as it is very resorty and nothing to do.

 

Tortugero National Park is amazing on the N. Carib coast and very remote. Most places you will need a water taxi to get to. You can also volunteer to go out on patrol for sea turtle nesting and count turtle eggs as they are laying them to protect them from poachers. You go out at night and it is amazing.

 

The most amazing place in the country is by far the Osa Peninsula. It has the most biological diversity where the scarlet maccaws live, two species of sloth, and the largest raptor in the world, the Harpy Eagle, which is 4 feet in height.

 

From a climber's perspective you should not miss hiking Mt. Chirripo, the highest peak in Costa Rica at 12,500', you can see both the Pacific and the Carribbean. Also, going to Arenal volcano and watching it erupt in pretty cool. You can go to the cheesy and fake Tabacon hotsprings in the late afternoon, bring headlamps, play in the hot springs, and then in the evening, hike outside and uphill from the resort area into the lava fields. Don't obey the signs about it being dangerous and hike up about 20 minutes. You will soon be alone, and if it is clear and you can see the mountain, you will soon see lava blast out of the top and hot molten rock rolling down the flanks. You can also head up to MonteVerde, the cloud forest. Settled by Quakers in the 60s, they started a dairy and the ice cream is awesome. Very english, but will remind you of the Pacific Northwest except for the poison arrow frogs, scorpions, and crazy birds like the resplendant quetzal. Hire a guide at the entrance of the Park to look for one of these rare birds. You will never have a chance of seeing them. A friend of mine owns the El Sapo Dorado hotel, but I think they are on the higher end. Stay down the hill outside of the town of MonteVerde where it is cheaper.

 

Finally, head to the Southern Carribbean tip town of Puerto Viejo. An afro carribbean culture that did not have electricity until 1987 due to prejudice of blacks in Costa Rica, it is a huge surf spot and you can either watch good surfers surf at Salsa Brava over a reef break and 20 ft. swells from the Reggae Bar, or rent a board and head down to Beach Break which is fun. You can also rent beach bungalows for as low as $100/month (roughing it!) right on the black sand beach north of town. Check out www.fincachica.com for rental houses. There is not a single paved road in this town! This was my second favorite place only surpassed by the Osa but the afro carribbean people were really cool! If you can find transportation, have someone take you south to Punto Mono or Monkey Point. Truly breathtaking and no one lives there. You can also ask one of the local fishermen to take you out in their dug out canoes with cheap motors and handline fish. We caught all types of craqzy fish. Much more cultural then heading out on a 50 ft. Hatteras (which don't even exist down there).

 

My final rec. is to buy a Costa Rican bird guidebook. You will probably be able to get it down there cheaper, but although I was never into birds, and don't pursue it in the States, every time you see a bright colored bird or hear a weird sound, you will want to find out what it is. So pick up the book by Gary Stiles and Alex Skutch called A guide to the Birds of Costa Rica and find the elusive three wattled bell bird or the squeaky gate bird. Have fun!

 

Oh, and be careful in the Coca Cola bus station in San Jose. That is the only place I ever had trouble with pick pockets. Once outside of San Jose, you should be fine!

Edited December 21, 2005 by ryland_moore

[Distel32]

you got married!? wtf?

 

where's the PIC!? congrats Jay! soon jayB will have to moderate with a heavy hand when his kids find cc.com....

[snugtop]

Monteverde is nice but HIGHLY touristy.

 

The other problem with Costa Rica is that you really need a car to get around. In Nicaraga, you can get everywhere on chicken buses and the nicer air-conditioned buses and very cheap cabs. We never felt the need to have a car there, wheras in CR, it was a real pain not having one (but if you do--get the full insurance--the roads are terrible)

[Kraken]

Listen to what Ryland_Moore has to say. I went there last year at this time.

 

I flew in to San Jose and immediately drove south and took a ferry from Puntarenas and eventually went to Montezuma, a quaint NON Touristy town with great beaches, cheap food and beer, and beautiful scenery. We then went to Liberia (which is quite americanized and i found boring) and finally went north to the Arenal volcanos. That was great! I had an awesome time and would HIGHLY suggest it. Great people, scenery, and very easy to escape the crowds if you do your research.

 

Pick up a Lonely Planet book on Costa Rica and find what suits you. I'd check out Montezuma though for sure, and stay in a bungalo. There are no hotels, only bungaloos. Great stuff really!

 

You'll love it.

[Kraken]

BTW, here are some pics

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/268570095FMoIjB

[TREETOAD]

(TreeToad, I would have to disagree. I lived in Costa Rica for a year and was in Guatamala and Nicaragua for 6 months. Yes, maybe it is more western in the popular areas, but if you get off the beaten path, there are BriBri Indians that are almost as old as the Mayans. I would say visit the Guanacaste Peninsula and stay in remote areas. One cool place is a Biological Reserve that doesn't even have any signs. A college dorm matron told me about it as she lives part time in TN on a college campus and part-time in MonteVerde Cloud Reserve where she founded and runs Escuala de Creativa. To get there, tale the ferry from Puntarenas over to the peninsula and head to Paquera. From there is a biological station by bus about 20 minutes SW of Paquera. You can stay in ocean front cabins, hike the beaches (all to yourself) shower outdoors (romantic) and take sea kayaks to three beaches. Monkeys all around! SUper remote. We were the only ones staying there when I was there and it is 3,000 acres. Also check out the dry lowland forest around Tamarindo and North. Big surf spot and Playa Naranja and Negra. Skip Papagayo as it is very resorty and nothing to do.)

 

I actually did do a great deal of this tour, we rented a four wheel drive and cruised around for two weeks, and you are right the wildlife is spectacular, and I love the way the Costa Ricans have realized their natures importance. We did have problems in SJ where a fellow followed us along the street as we left the bus station and recognizing that my wife was carrying our 1 year old son tryed to slit the back of her pack with a razor blade knife, We walked away quickly but he continued to follow us so I turned around and smashed him in the head with my trusty Pentax K1000. Off he fucked.

We did have a nice time there but I guess I just wanted something more culturally different from my own, Guatemala gave me that.

[JayB]

Many thanks to everyone for taking the time to share all of the great information. Guatamala sounds like a great place, and we may try to head down there to check things out if time allows, but it sounds like we could easily burn a couple of weeks just checking out 1/4 of the places that Ryland mentioned.

 

I don't think we're looking to drink umbrella drinks inside a gated resort the whole time, but my wife has been spending 60-80 hours a week cleaning the abcesses out of junkies and sewing up stab/gunshot wounds, etc so something that will provide an escape from that kind of reality is also on the agenda.

[TREETOAD]

Point well taken JayB, but if you guys ever get the urge to do some kind of work in Guatemala they can use every type of help they can get.

Here is a web site for just one of the organizations, it is very grass roots http://www.pocoapoco.ca/

 

Have a great holiday and honeymoon.

[Dr_Flash_Amazing]

Many thanks to everyone for taking the time to share all of the great information. Guatamala sounds like a great place, and we may try to head down there to check things out if time allows, but it sounds like we could easily burn a couple of weeks just checking out 1/4 of the places that Ryland mentioned.

 

I don't think we're looking to drink umbrella drinks inside a gated resort the whole time, but my wife has been spending 60-80 hours a week cleaning the abcesses out of junkies and sewing up stab/gunshot wounds, etc so something that will provide an escape from that kind of reality is also on the agenda.

 

The East coast is pretty cool. Very chill Rasta vibe from the Caribbean, lots of dreads, and reggae playing from the bars and restaurants. Hell, the country is so skinny, you pretty much have to see both coasts. It's about half a day's drive coast-to-coast, and you get to see the cloud forest and get passed by crazy drivers around steep mountain corners as you race about in your Toyota micro-van.

 

Zoom!

[JayB]

Cool - another thanks is in order.

 

Anyone have any insights on car rentals down there? Any cheap-but-reliable outfits that you'd have to endure a Google Marathon to dig-up?

 

The last time I was in the market for a rental car was when I was in Maui for a couple of weeks for a friends wedding, and found a place called "Maui Cruisers." The office was an old shipping container, the staff included a one-eyed mechanic and an attack dog, and the premises were littered with the carcases of several dozen early-80's to mid-90's imports that were being gutted to keep the rest of the fleet running - and I was able to rent a car for about $20 a day. Best deal of the trip by far.

[TREETOAD]

When I was there we rented from National. because import duties of any kind are huge (around 100%) cars are very expensive to buy and when you rent a car they go over it with a fine tooth comb looking for any damage. They wre really anal about that. So I always stick with the major rental firms bewcause there "may" be recourse if they try to screw you. This may have changed by now though.

[terrible_ted]

Hi all:

 

Treetoad is right: they'll definitely give your car the once, twice, three-times over when you bring it back. They spent about 40 minutes checking my rig out (which was missing a side view mirror from a sideswiping bus and had mud under the hood from an inadvertant deep river crossing...) - I especially liked it when he double checked the glovebox to make sure the light still worked. I knew that I was fucked, otherwise it's worth it to get the car washed right before you bring it back.

 

We spent a few days at Arenal up at the Observatory. I think rooms 21 and 22 have the unobstructed view of the volcano - it's well worth getting these. If you're headed up there (it's the best spot to watch an active volcano from bed, plus you can hike up to the lava flows) let me know and I'll try to dig it out of my records. We then (following the inadvertant river crossing) dropped our rig off and rode horseback over the cordillera before reclaiming our rig and driving to Monteverde. We just cut a deal with some locals to do this - we didn't need to schedule/plan/pre-arrange... Travel times up to Monteverde were EXTREMELY slow due to the conditions of the road (20 mph feels like you're flying). We had a local guide in Monteverde (Alex Villegas) because we were there birding, but in addition to the 100+ additions to my birding life list we got a lot of insects, reptiles and mammalian sightings. Getting a local guide is very much worth the time and money - a good guide can get you to the best places while avoiding the tour bus crowds.

 

We drove up to the north and spent a few days at Sugar Beach (http://www.sugar-beach.com/), which was very laid back. We basically had an entire cove to ourselves, with only 2 or 3 other couples. Snorkeling was nice, the rooms were big, the food was good and the drinks were strong. All the big north end resorts are separated from Sugar Beach - which was exactly what we wanted. Not a good choice for surfing, however.

 

We spent one night at in Guanacasta, but the timing (late November) was bad for bugs. I can't tell you how bad the bugs were... it was like being on another planet... There's usually a period of two or three weeks at the end of the wet season, when things first start to get really warm, that just kicks the insects into overdrive. We left after the first night, although we did take a half day raft trip with a couple of kids to see some vultures and owls.

 

We spent a day at a B&B/coffee plantation outside of SanJose, but I'd have a tough time recommending it, although we did manage to inadvertantly order cooked iguana at the local bar. And, yes, it did taste like chicken.

 

What I would recommend is looking into flights via the north end (Liberia) airport. San Jose has little to recommend it, unless you're looking for the Latin American urban experience - ferocious free-style traffic (like Boston, but without the rules...), seedy bars, shopping, etc... You had to fly into San Jose back in '98, but I believe Liberia has been built up since then.

 

Have fun, and say hi to the dickheads in Texas customs that took half of my cigars...

[TREETOAD]

Another small note that I just remembered.

The day before we got to Manuel Antonio a guy on his honeymoon was walking out of the surf up toward his wife who was watching him from the beach. As he walked out of the water he was struck by lightning and killed instantly.

It was July when we were there and there were huge monsoons and thunder and lightning storms each day around 4 oclock. We were driving at night and the thunder was cracking off above us as we drove and it sounded like a gunshot inside the truck. the lightning instantly flashed blinding me for a second each time. I didn,t want to stop just in case so I drove through that shit for about an hour. My 2 year old son was in the back and never even woke up.

[dtw]

For car rentals, the best rate I found was a special rate that a hotel has pre-arranged with Tricolor car rental. Better than the American companies and better than going to Tricolor direct. Call the Don Carlos hotel and ask them to book for you.

http://www.doncarloshotel.com/costarica_hotel_carrentals.htm You don't have to stay at the hotel.

 

The whole thing sounds kind of shady, but was recommended to me and it worked out just great for us, and saved us some cash. Only hitches: checking in/out takes forever as usual, and they are only open business hours. We had a late flight, so I arranged for them to pick the car up at the airport parking lot the next day for an extra couple bucks.

 

I will second the votes for Puerto Viejo/Cahuita (plus the drive there is interesting), and on the other side Montezuma or Mal Pais are very cool (drive there is not as interesting).

 

The favorite of our group was a raft trip on the Pacuare river. Kind of spendy, and typical raft-trip tourists, but... beautiful scenery and a great night at the Pacuare lodge in the middle of the jungle. Take out for the trip is not too far from Puerto Viejo, so you can meet there and skip the minibus trip from San Jose. Avoid San Jose.